This Tiger Purrs: The Next Mac OS Will Be Best Yet - 19 Apr 2005

On Friday, April 29, 2005, Apple Computer will unleash Mac OS X 10.4—aka Tiger—and give Mac fans the best Mac OS X yet. Although I feel that Tiger is a minor upgrade compared to the previous OS X version, Panther, that doesn't diminish the importance of this release. (See my review of Panther on the SuperSite for Windows.) Apple has been slowly improving its UNIX-based OS for several years now, and Tiger is the fruit of that labor. Is it enough to make Windows users switch? That's a tough call.

A Worthy XP Competitor Compared to Windows XP, Mac OS X Tiger is more professional looking and far less likely to be a hacking target. It rewards computer experience with a lean and mean UI that doesn't get in your way, as so many Mac aficionados assert. It's rock-solid and stable, at least as much as XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2). In short, Tiger is certainly a worthy XP competitor, despite OS X's diminutive market share.

With the release next week of Tiger, the areas in which OS X lag behind XP are shrinking. Tiger isn't a great choice for computer novices, because its Spartan UI offers little in the way of XP's handholding wizards and task-based folders. It still lacks XP's vast library of readily available software, although many PC-based hardware devices will work just fine with Macs. And Mac computers—with some exceptions, such as the Mac mini and eMac—still tend to be quite a bit more expensive than comparable PCs.

In general, where OS X shines compared with XP is its support for digital media tasks. Grab the $79 iLife '05 suite—a bargain at twice that price—and you'll find yourself with a set of tools for digital photos, music, home movies, and DVDs that PC users can only dream of. If you care at all about digital media, you should at least be evaluating a Mac, even if you intend to augment your PC and not replace it.

Burning Bright But what about Tiger? For the prosumer—that is, the technically savvy consumer—Tiger will offer a number of enhancements over previous OS X versions. For those who opt to use Macs and PCs together, for example, Tiger's ability to browse Windows networks has been refined and offers much better performance. (I still wish you didn't have to mount Windows shares on your desktop and could just browse them directly from the Finder, as you can with similar features in Windows and Linux.) And the new Spotlight instant-search feature delivers on a key Longhorn feature a full year and a half before Microsoft will bestow such a thing upon Windows users. It's speedy and well done.

Want a safe and secure Web-browsing environment for your children? Check out Apple's excellent Safari 2.0 Web browser, which comes free with Tiger. Safari 2.0 isn't susceptible to the frequent attacks Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) users suffer. And it's arguably even safer than Mozilla Firefox, which will likely become a target of more and more hackers as it gains more users.

Tiger also supplies much better parental controls than XP does. Unlike XP, Tiger lets you create non-administrator accounts for kids that actually work as advertised. These accounts will prevent your children from accessing—or accidentally deleting—your private data, and you can even configure these accounts so that your kids can communicate electronically only with people you trust: If a child tries to email someone you haven't configured as safe, for example, the system will prompt you to OK the message before sending it. Tiger's parental controls also extend to other OS X features, such as iChat AV instant messaging (IM) and even the system dictionary.

Tiger is also an excellent choice for those with hearing and vision problems or other disabilities. A new VoiceOver feature, similar to XP's Narrator feature, lets you navigate the OS X interface by using only a keyboard, accompanied by a robotic voice that explains what's happening onscreen. Tiger also features a large-caption option, a zooming feature, and screen flashing for alerts for the hearing impaired.

Coming of Age These and other features make me believe that OS X Tiger can not only coexist with XP on your home network but thrive when you begin taking advantage of its unique capabilities. The original version of Mac OS X was slow and incomplete. However, after a series of successive updates culminating next week with Tiger, OS X is coming of age. You might not be ready to make the switch. But surely, OS X Tiger—perhaps running on a new Mac mini—will be a welcome addition to any Connected Home Express reader's stable of computing tools. It's definitely something to consider.

Discuss this Article 35

Jay (not verified)

on Apr 20, 2005

"It's rock-solid and stable, at least as much as XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)"
give me a break! - their stability is on 2 different levels!, try running windows xp for 24 weeks with no restarts, shut downs or even seeing a boot screen - just sleeping it, and waking it when you want to use it - that's what I've been doing on my ibook and its still rock solid!
windows xp's stability is like that of a 2 legged chair compaired with just about any unix based os (especially OSX).

MAC OS USERS CAN DO THINGS THAT WINXP USERS CAN ONLY DREAM OF, LIKE 64 BIT COMPUTING! THE NUMBERS SAY THAT A MAC PERFORMS 99% ON GAMES THAN WITH WINXP, AND TO THOU WHO SAYS MARKET SHARE IS EVERYTHING, I INVITE YOU TO STUDY THE FALL OF HARDWARE GIANT IBM.
I AM FINISHED.

Geoff,
I can't speak for Peter (nor would I want to until he checks his meds), but ALL Macs have a built-in spell checker (Running 10.2-10.3) that just works no matter what program you're using. Option/Apple click or for those of us who prefer to use a mouse with more than one button, right click to bring up whatever choices are available. It works in both IE and Safari when posting comments for example (I hope I don't mispell anything here as I'm on my work "XP" box currently).
I've only bought Macs since 1987. The biggest reason? Ease of use. After Win95 came out, I seriously thought about switching because the hardware was so much cheaper, but decided to tough it out through Systems 7-9 after seeing some of the advance screenshots for what was then called Copeland. Of course that turned out to be a disaster, but before I could contemplate switching again, ol Stevie boy came back and I decided to wait. I'm glad I did although I waited until 10.2 came out before going to OS X.
Windows XP is a great OS. There is no use denying it. But its lack of security and plethera of viruses makes me glad I decided to stick with Apple. Even the huge software library doesn't sway me. Just my 2 cents

I was always a Windows user, like many, through university nd after, but switching to Mac OSX was the best thing I have done in my computing life. It is a far nicer and easier OS to navigate, I have very little o no fear of viruses, I run NAV, but have never encountered a virus. In comparison XP just seems old and tired. As one person wrote aboe, I found that with Windows the computer just got slower and slower, no matter how often I cleaned them up. These probels just don't seem to exist on Mac. Also the endless driver searches for every scanner/usb card reader etc... is endless. Plug & Play is a hope for Windows, a reality on Mac.
It seems that so many journalists write about Macs with a biased against it from the start, they may like a few of the cool Mac features and even want a Mac, but Redmond pays their bills!

You know, for every Betamax you can throw out, I can counter with a Cambridge Audio or Jaguar. What?!?! How can these companies survive with such small shares of the market and no licensing?!?!
I will tell you: design, quality, customer value, compatibility.
The trouble with Betamax wasn't strictly market share, but the distribution of compatible media. See, Cambridge Audio can continue in it's niche because it is still compatible with all radio broadcasts and other A/V equipment. Jaguar persists because it is still compatible with all gasolines and paved roads. And Apple will persist because it is still compatible with almost all digital cameras, DV cameras, printers, flash drives, MP3 players, PDAs, websites, audio file formats, image file formats, video file formats, document file formats (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., etc., etc.), hard drives, CD/DVD burners, memory modules, PCI-based expansions, USB-based expansions, Firewire-based expansions, WiFi networks, etc., etc., etc.
C'mon, that Betamax argument (i.e. "market share") is about as old as the Wintel PCs are cheaper (TCO!) claim, the Windows has more software (useful software?!) claim, and the Apple is a dead, washed-up company about to be bought or go out of business claim.
You need to get a new mindless slogan to preach - this one, like the others, is tired.

ALSO, WHAT MAKES A COMPUTER UNSTABLE? VIRUSES, ADWARE, SPYWARE, AND A LACK OF RAM! THE MAC OS IS UNSUCCEPTABLE TO THE FIRST THREE, AND THANKS TO THE G5 PROCESSOR PAIRED WITH MAC OS X 10.4 TIGER, A MAC HAS THE CAPACITY TO BE UPGRADED TO TWICE WHAT WINXP COMPUTERS CAN UPGRADE!
NOW I AM REALLY DONE.

What weenies you are - come on guys they are just computers and there is hardly any difference between them. Really, what a thing to get emotional about, they are all simply mass produced systems trying to please as many people as possible and over 99% of the audience aren't equipped technically (or possibly intellectually) to even differentiate between much more that which are their favourite TV ads. Really, grow up, and pay attention to something more important...

Peter - obviously your Mac doesn't come with a spell checker - and I think your capslock key is stuck. Not much is 'unsusceptible' to viruses - if you were writing a virus, would you write one to target less than 3 percent of the market?

something strange here.. paul always talks about the discoverability of windows.. where are all the frustrated mac users who don't have 'add a printer' wizards to hold their hands?
when you want to 'add a printer' to a mac.. you plug it in..
it's not that hard
typically a new printer will come with some CD.. check it out.. put the cd in.. and it will run some kind of installation thing.. okay.. now the printer does what it's supposed to do..
of course, i'm pretending to be a putz.. I know, but i pretty much laid out how the usage of 'wizards' are sidestepped in the world of Macintosh.
ultimately it comes down to this: Macs cost a couple hundred more up front, due to Economies of Scale.. but the computer will last longer, be a pleasure to use, and you will never have to worry about viruses thanks to UNIX stability/security keys.
As a Mac user, I understand that Paul has friends in Redmond, and I understand their Holy Grail (ubiquitous computing, maximizing developer profit) but there is room for Apple, and its users get the best experience of all.

Ha! ha! Unix catching up with Redmond. That was a joke, right? ROTFLMAO.
Read your Eric Raymond:
http://catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/ch03s02.html
This is amusing, too: "Welcome to the world of Windows. Welcome to chaos":
http://rixstep.com/1/20050317,00.html
Even a $200 million advertising campaign can't change the reality of the situation.

I've been a long-time hardcore Windows follower, but I just bought my first Mac a month ago. There's no way in Hell I would ever pick a Windows PC over a Mac ever again. How can anybody say that OS X is catching up to WinXP??? Like W-T-F mate??? OS X is on a totally different level. It friggin' works!!! Never a blue screen, never issues with putting it to sleep and waking it up, etc. This article is absolute bullshit.

Ah the argument of OS's religion. Yes it is more stable, and secure, and a heck of a lot easier for a newbie than Linux products. The mini mac is cool, and cheap, it still will be a only on Apple only OS, I know they tried a few years ago licensing to Motorola boxes, but that failed quickly.
The issue is MARKET SHARE, not best products, and I hate to bring out the example again of Betamax was the best technology, but smaller share, and too high of cost for licensing for other vendors.

I'm not A MAC user and have always been an advocate of MS Windows but this new OS looks great. I would definately consider purchasing a MAC just for the video-editing stuff. Windows XP is good but after a while it just gets slower and slower and now that apple seem to have there act together its time to mooove.

No thanks, computers are life, life and life
This guy (Paul) really doesnt like MACS for some reason (no way to live Paul)
Example: www.connectedhomemag.com/homeoffice/articles/index.cfm?articleID=23134&pg=2